Forget the Frontbench: A new column interrogating the players shaking up Australian politics

Once upon a time, the most powerful bottoms in Parliament House sat on the government frontbench, the first row of seats to the right of the speaker in the House of Representatives, or the president in the Senate. The opposition frontbench, over on the left, could also be a potent place to sit, although its occupiers dearly longed to plant their cheeks on the pew across the chamber.

There were other influential seats: the speaker’s and president’s chairs were commanding in their own right, as were those of the kingmakers who held the balance of power in the Senate.